Jeffrey Hirt and James Morin were in a Coconut Creek, Florida collision on Saturday that ended with Hirt dead, sources indicate. Police are currently conducting an investigation to determine the exact cause of the accident and have not said whether charges are expected. It is unclear whether Hirt’s survivors will file for damages.

According to reports, Hirt, 47, works as an auto body mechanic at Sterling Autobody in Pompano Beach. Sources say Hirt was born in Blauvelt, New York and moved to South Florida 21 years ago. Hirt’s wife, Linda Hirt, told reporters that on the days Hirt didn’t work, “he just liked to ride his bike.” Linda was out of town at the time of the accident, but said she spoke with Hirt on the phone only moments before the crash and that he had been on his way to get some dinner.

Reports say the accident occurred around 5:45 Saturday evening at the Sawgrass Promenade shopping plaza in 1300 block of South Military Trail in Deerfield Beach. There is a traffic light positioned at the entrance of the plaza that control traffic coming into and out of the parking lot, though it is not clear what the signal read at the time of the crash. Sources say Morin was northbound on Military Trail when he attempted to make a left-hand turn into the Sawgrass Promenade parking lot. Hirt, who was traveling on his motorcycle going the other direction, crashed into the passenger’s side of Morin’s Honda.

Hirt was taken to Broward Health North; he was later pronounced dead of his injuries. Morin does not appear to have been injured. An investigation is underway; police have not determined which man had the right-of-way at the time of the crash.
Left-hand turns can be especially dangerous, particularly when multi-lane streets are involved. This is most apparent at busy intersections. In a 2007 study, the Federal Highway Administration said there were 2.4 million collisions at intersections. A deeper look revealed that many of those crashes were attributed to “crossing paths,” such as making left turns across intersections. Many traffic engineers are now looking to design roads and intersections to eliminate left-hand turns entirely. Some even go so far as to say that two right turns are better than one left turn.

In other news, one person was killed and another was injured in a West Palm Beach collision Friday after a speeding car crashed into a truck, reports say. Information regarding the victims’ identities was not immediately available following the incident. Police have started an investigation to determine the cause of the crash.

According to reports, the accident occurred around 2:30 Friday afternoon on Forest Hill Boulevard in West Palm Beach. Sources say a car traveling at high speeds rear-ended a city truck, though the details of the crash are not yet known. One victim was pronounced dead at the scene, while another victim was taken to Wellington Regional Medical Center, reports say.